Asylum decisions for Central American children may depend on where they live
Central American minors seeking asylum in the United States undergo the same interview process in all parts of the country. But an Associated Press analysis of asylum decisions suggests that whether they’re granted asylum is influenced by what part of the country they end up in.
The AP analyzed data on nearly 5,800 asylum decisions reached for minors who arrived in the United States since May of 2014. Asylum claimants must interview with an asylum officer from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, whose job is to determine whether claimants have a credible fear of persecution in their home countries. USCIS has eight regional offices, each serving a large swath of the regions around them.
Overall, 37 percent of the Central American minors were granted asylum. But that overall number disguises a wide variation in asylum grants between regional offices. The San Francisco office, which serves part of California and the Pacific Northwest, granted 86 percent of asylum requests. By contrast, the Chicago office—which covers 15 states—granted 15 percent of requests.
The Houston office granted 16 percent of requests, and offices in Miami, New York, New Jersey and Virginia had approval rates in the 20s and 30s. The Los Angeles USCIS office, which serves Nevada, Arizona and Hawaii as well as part of California, granted 53 percent of requests.
A spokeswoman for USCIS told the AP that each decision is made on an individual basis and subject to review from a supervisor. It had no explanation for the sweeping differences between the regional offices.
But immigration lawyers had some theories. For one thing, they said, there are regional differences in how federal appeals courts rule, and asylum officers’ decisions are supposed to be in line with those rulings. The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers much of the same area as the Los Angeles and San Francisco USCIS offices, may be more sympathetic to asylum-seekers than the 5th and 11th Circuits in the South.
Another factor, they suggested, could be that California started funding representation for unaccompanied minors in late 2014, which could drive up success rates for minors in that state.
And immigration lawyers and advocates say the asylum officer’s interviewing style might make a difference. One teenager from Honduras said the San Francisco office of USCIS questioned him gently, telling him to take his time and breathe deeply while talking about the threats on his life in his home country. That might not be true in other jurisdictions, the story suggested.
Minors may not choose where they live while they apply for asylum. By law, the federal government must place them with relatives.
Minors who are denied asylum may appeal that decision to an immigration court. But because immigration courts are still experiencing high backlogs—Syracuse University reports that the average wait time for pending cases is now nearly two years—that can take a long time. And, the story says, court decisions on asylum also vary widely.
More than 10,000 unaccompanied minors have applied for asylum since May of 2014, the AP says. More than 90 percent came from Central America, where, according to a UN High Commissioner for Refugees report, governments can’t or won’t control widespread gang violence including routine murders, rapes and forced conscription.
In the same time frame, more than 15,000 minors have also applied for Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, which is granted to minors who have been abandoned, neglected or abused by a parent. The AP says most of those have been approved.
See also:
ABA Journal (2014): “Lawyers and judges face hurdles in struggle to cope with influx of young immigrants”
